Thanks for watching! Did you know that fretless instruments can play micro tones too? Don't forget to check my Megalovania reaction right here!👉 th-cam.com/video/aySAUxkJq00/w-d-xo.html
"A plain side gives you a certain impression but there is something about him that is so shallow." Dude really just guessed what happened in the game when talking about Asgore. "There's a clash of emotions inside the character." "That it eventually ended bad for him" And now he summarized the whole fight!
So fun fact the uh melody shift? Ill call it you know where the song changes drastically near the beginning it swiches to the main melody of "heartache" the first boss fights battle theme. This links the two characters melodically since the two characters were married literally... Not anymore
I love how in depth you go. Another amazing track is ‘Another Medium’ a track that everyone loves but always forgets to recommend, most likely because it’s an area theme and not a boss theme. It’s a lot of people’s favorite but yet you never see anyone reacting to it :) Some other great pieces from this OST are Death By Glamor, Your Best Nightmare, Dummy, and Spider Dance.
"Waterfall" and "It's Raining Somewhere Else" are also shamefully underrated. "Core" as well. I feel like "It's Raining Somewhere Else" might be particularly suited for an analysis like this.
I've never heard him described that way, "shallow", and yet it fit the situation so well. The expectation of a standard RPG is that the human hero will fight the evil King of Monsters and save the world. Except, the protagonist here is little more than a lost, frightened child; the King of Monsters is anything but evil, and the grand clash is a pointless fight that doesn't even need to be happening. Fighting you is the absolute last thing Asgore wants to be doing. Throughout the entire battle where this theme plays, Asgore hides his face in shame, because he KNOWS what he's doing is wrong. There's no way he can possibly justify to himself what he's doing. It goes against every part of who he is, but he is ardently forcing himself to do so, because he feels he has no other choice.
@@KeroTheInvincible Imma be honest - it was years since i played Undertale. But reading this comment, i unironically cried. I mean - i was aware of what you are talking about. But you put it in such straight-forward way that it really hit me hard. Thank you, i guess.
The protagonist is PORTRAYED as a lost, frightened child, when they are anything but. They are not the brave hero of many human stories, either. They are just a person doing what they want to; hardly frightened, but forced to fight nonetheless. The final boss is PORTRAYED as an evil king, when he is not. He is just a coward who fights out of obligation, who kills while drowning in guilt. He wants to stagnate, maintain, but not go any further than what he has already done. When the two clash, it is a half-hearted dance of blades and fire where neither wants to kill the other. Asgore will drop Frisk's HP to one before killing them. Frisk will drop Asgore's HP to one without finishing them off. Hesitation lies in their every move, even as Asgore's attacks speed up, and Frisk's damage per attack increases. As they near the end of the battle, the attacks become more frantic from both sides, forcing them to fight harder and harder until eventually, it all ends. If it was a pacifist run, Frisk has the option to try and stop Asgore by talking. But the lowering of his attack and defense only reaffirm his determination to continue this fight to the end. Frisk does not necessarily want to fight Asgore. But Asgore is fighting Frisk out of obligation. He stands before the barrier, as Frisk's final obstacle. Just before, they are told that they cannot pass the barrier without killing Asgore and taking his SOUL. Both of them have a reason to fight, and neither can run away, even if they want nothing more than peace. But neither of them really want to fight. Although, again, as Sans said, in the pursuit of their own goals, Frisk's clash with Asgore will determine the fate of the world. If they die and let Asgore take their SOUL, he will no longer have any reason to stay Underground. He will go up and maybe destroy humanity in obligation. If Frisk kills Asgore, they will drown the Underground in despair, as their beloved king is gone, and the last SOUL nowhere to be found. The real ending, however, is far worse, with Frisk above the barrier, without Asgore's SOUL, and all the human SOULs missing. The progress reset all the way back to zero, the Underground once again in a place far worse than mere moments earlier. Ultimately, he is felled, and another being takes his place as the actual final boss. The genuine, real final clash, against a hopelessly powerful being, only made possible by getting Asgore to fight you, bringing out the SOUL jars, and then defeating him.
I think what makes Asgore song unique is that it described him well in the game of him being a broken king who have lost everything from his two children with his adopted human child passed away due to buttercup flower poisoning while his only son died because of human relentlessly hurt him to death. That in turn make him wage war towards the human and lost so he swore to killed the human once he breaks the barrier that they placed with the human child soul. But that in turned makes his wife left him in disgust while he has to uphold his people's hope and dreams to live on the ground.
And in the end he truly didn't want to go to war, he just wanted his people to have hope and felt it was his duty to carry out what he said he would do
@@Gears_AndGrinds You're right. The monsters had been trapped underground for a while when the human child fell and was adopted. This is why they needed the help of their adopted brother to pass the barrier. Another bit of inaccuracy in the first comment of this thread is that Asgore did not lose after declaring war on humanity because of his children's deaths. He couldn't lose in the first place, because the monsters were trapped already.
I like how people that haven't played the game can kinda figure out certain details about a character via their theme. Yet, there are certain elements they can't quite pick up on, like "why is the Game Over theme part of this theme?"
@@gabrote42 Right. But, a person who has never played the game wouldn't know that. The point is, how a person can figure out some details of the character through the music. It can make them more interested in actually playing the game to learn little nuances like the one you just mentioned.
You hit with desciption of Asgore. I played this game years ago, but I remember it was something that he didn't want to fight with protagonist, but had to.
At the start of the fight, Asgore breaks your "Mercy" option. Because he doesn't want to be saved, he doesn't think he has the right to be. For the entire fight, he has his head down, he doesn't look at you and just sends his attacks everywhere without aiming at you. In the game, Undyne says that she never managed to touch Asgore during a training session, and then he stands still and takes your hits willingly. In one of the endings, when you forgive Asgore, he thanks you, telling you to live a good life before litterally killing himself in front of you, so you could take his soul and cross the barrier.
6:40 The drastic change there is actually the Game Over theme. It's the only other main song in the game that uses that leitmotif. It's especially important since: 1) This character speaks during Game Over. 2) He is very thematically related to the concept. And 3) you have the option to directly address him about it during this fight if you do not meet the requirements to make him falter. Hope that helped!
Funnily enough, the boss only has 1 phase, outside of the introduction that is only the first 15 seconds. The music just changes frequently to keep it interesting and to display multiple emotions
What no one mentioned is that this drastic change that the music undergoes is to reference another character in the game that you also face, Asgore's ex-wife, Toriel, with the song Heartache, the first person we met throughout the story mode and she is protective and super kind. She doesn't support Asgore's fight but he knows he has to do it that's why he misses her, but he believes that what needs to be done is right, he is the King of the entire world we are in. so this clash of emotions comes from him knowing that he is going against the one he loves and that is why he lost her but he needs to be responsible for the lives of everyone who needs him.
def asgores theme breeds guilt and hatred for what he has to do (hatred more so for himself). it is such a good descriptor for asgore as a character and I hope we get some more dev for his character in deltarune
I actually don't think megalovania really fits the narrative of undertale. Yes it's a cool song, but it's pretty clear that Toby didn't actually write it specifically for the game like he did with the others.
If you’re wondering why the track changed at 1:00. It’s because that actually is reminiscent of asgores old wife’s theme (I genuinely don’t know if this is brought up at all by you later, just wanted to say)
Bro I got chills. Asgore is a king that is kind and sweet, but will not hesitate to do what needs to be done for his country. In this case be a hoss in battle. The fact that the music got you at the heart of the character is honestly scary. Like music can transmit ideas as well as a language in the right hands.
Toby fox doesn't really use microtones: there is no song in the game that has a tone and then a tone that isn't a full key lower or higher than it. He just likes to use different tunings/pitch scales than the traditional western one in many songs, but it is always is a consistent 12 tone-scale throughout the whole song.
The fact that you can figure out a whole character based only from their song is exactly why I want to become a composer. I love how music is able to show a perspective of the story that can't be conveyed visually.
I am not a musical expert by any means but Undertale and it's soundtrack center on one leitmotif. Asgore (which also has an intro called Berguntruckung) and another song Heartache mirror each other and have very similar melodies. and are contextually linked in the game as well
i honestly think it's so amazing that profissional musicians are able to basically 90% accurately guess what the battle is about just by hearing the games music, this just show how ABSURDLY GOOD the game OST is, everything is so well planned and placed, not a note without a purpose
I think you missed the bandwagon by a few years, hehe. Very interesting how you broke down the character pretty accurately, though that also means Toby did a great job translating the character with the track.
With Toby Fix you gotta listen closely as he loves to put layers throughout even in parts that sound similar. In ways that almost distract you from the differences. Also most importantly hw is a master of motifs and recurring riffs to point he managed to make it a unique artform of his.
This is an absolutely fantastic video! I can always tell that TH-cam musicians like you know their stuff when they can hear the Undertale OST and break down the story and the scenes bit-by-bit without having ever played the game. Toby is truly gifted, and it's always fun to see how far down the rabbit hole goes in his music. I highly recommend you check out some of Toby's work outside of Undertale, such as more recent songs from the Deltarune soundtrack, or especially his pre-Undertale songs from Homestuck. He's been grinding away at this incredibly deep, emotional, and intense brand of music for well over a decade now, and just about everything he's ever made deserves so much love. My personal suggestions from Homestuck include Descend, Megalovania (yes, there's an another version of it!), Black Hole/Green Sun, Black, Overture, and _especially_ Oppa Toby Style. That last one was part of a larger (~18ish minute) collaboration song, and was collectively named by the other three musicians on the project since Toby refused to give it a name due to calling it his magnum opus. Reviewing some of the Homestuck songs would net you a good portion of views, as its community is still alive and well and eats up any new TH-cam content that releases. Nobody has ever really done a music theory breakdown on most of its music (the comic ended before this type of video gained popularity), and it would be incredible to see some of that music dug into.
You described Asgore, the entire fight, and the story behind the fight, to an absolute perfect degree. It's amazing. Spoilers ahead: Asgore is built up to be the 'final boss.' You, a human, need to absorb the soul of a powerful Monster to pass the barrier and escape from the underground. He, the King of the Underground, needs 7 human souls to break the Barrier and allow monsters to escape the Underground. All this because, as you learn before, Asgore's child, Asriel, and a human child he once cared for, both died in one night. The latter died to disease, and the former died at the hands of humans when trying to bring the child's body back to his home. That day, Asgore vowed to kill every human that came to his realm, so he could take revenge. 6 humans have since passed into the underground. He has taken all their souls... but he has done so reluctantly. He does not -truly- wish to fight. In fact, when we confront him, he recoils in fear, staring us down with horror. He does not want to fight us. He does so because he feels he is forced to, lest his people lose hope, and his child's death mean nothing. In fact, during this fight, you will hear a slightly remixed version of Toriel's theme. It's found out later in the game that she was his wife, his queen, and that Asriel was their son. That's why they broke up. She could not stand the idea of him killing humans out of revenge. Why she tries to protect us by trapping us in the ruins. The entire fight is a tragedy. We do not wish to fight (unless we're doing a genocide route) because we don't want to hurt others. He doesn't want to fight because he doesn't want to harm any more people. And yet, we're forced to fight because of our own pre-determined goals. In fact, ti is the very first time in the entire game where you are -forced- to fight, because at the start of the fight, he actually destroys your 'mercy' button, as a symbolic "There will be no mercy. We -must- do this." sort of motif. At the end, however, you get a choice to kill him, or spare him. Defying what is supposed to happen and sparing h im even when you aren't supposed to be able to. It's... a wonderful scene. And you got it on the head. A true testament to not only your wonderful knowledge of Music Theory, but also to Toby Fox's absolutely amazing ability to weave story into song.
And we can say toby is not only make good music , he make all the music that stick with the theme that just really base on the character , toby literally a genius , and im so glad that finally someone called atlas analysis it so well !
If nothing else, Toby is an absolute genius at game music composition. Many people (including myself) were initially put off by the visuals of this game, but no matter how you feel about the graphics, the music, gameplay and story are all absolutely top-notch!
The best part of the song is his intro speech pause after the first bit of the song and how he nullify the Mercy option. For those unfamiliar, in this game you could Fight enemies or Forgive/Mercy them. It is a pivotal game mechanic and important to reach the True Pacifist ending. Asgore nullifying the Mercy at the intro hits you hard since he is forcing you to fight him and kill him if you want to win, trying to negate your true pacifist ideals. Is not that he is evil or a bad person, on the contrary he is the nicest dude ever but his position as king forces him to do bad thing for the sake of his people. Thats why, as Atlas says, theres an undertone, a hiding aspect of asgore not seen at first glance.
Being the director and the musical composer allow Toby to not only make a song for a character, he did a song that sounds from the inside of the character and expres their full person on the melody
The Undertale OST is best listened to in the order they are numbered, as that is the order they appear in the game, given the sheer amount of motif callbacks.
Okay it was my first time watching your channel, halfway through the vid, I pressed the like, getting the feeling the other half will confirm that decision, that's some on-point analysis there so far :)
Yours is the second reaction I've seen to mention microtones in your analysis! This track actually reprises a number of leitmotifs established from earlier in the game, which is ... (without spoilers), well, let's just say EXTREMELY appropriate for the specific point in the game you actually hear this track. And by all means, give Undertale a play (it's about a 5-hour game). Record it if you want to compile a Let's Play of it, but maybe _don't_ stream it online (chat may contain spoilers).
the short version of the story to understand the second part of the soundtrack is that it comes from heartache (from the fight with toriel) reprecenting they separate because the decisions Asgore took as the king
Oh! Reactions to Undertale! Love it. In this regard, I really hope for a reaction also to Touhou. (you did on one theme 2 years ago) The music is wonderful for both of them. Btw: Toby was inspired by ZUN, this is especially noticeable in the kind of Dreemurrs and their themes.
You should really listen to Deltarune music (also from Toby Fox) I don't have a particular one in mind but you should probably star with "Field of Hopes and Dreams" or "A CYBERWORLD ?!?!" clearly bangers :)
I remember this was the song that made me interested in Undertale, yeah Megalovania was cool but the beginning of Asgore's theme gave me this impression that he doesnt like what hes doing, and the fact that this pixelated character had such a good song was just impressive so i check out the game and yeah, was not disappointed
this melody i call it the Undertale's backbone, a lot of the song (2 boss battle, intro and more) use the same melody. the notes sound similar but the pitch and speed change depending on the context
Asgore as my favorite character in Undertale he’s only in the game for about 30 minutes, but you can tell so much about him about how other characters think about him and just bring it together. He would’ve been good boss if it weren’t for you know
Asgore, a broken king who lost his children & his wife, a king that swore in rage to his people that he would kill any human he meets so he can gather 7 souls and break the barrier sealing them all underground, when in reality, he doesn't want to harm anyone. He wants to stop fighting and just be a family again, with you as well, but the promise he made forces him to fight. Conflicting emotions clash against one another as he must make a choice between the 7th human or his people. In the end, even if you manage to spare him, he just can't take it anymore as he decides that the best option is to just end his own life. Truly a sad tale of loss, rage, & regret. He wants to spare you, but he can't for his people's freedom.
The context is that you're fighting the king of monsters, Asgore. He had to murder 6 human children to get souls to cross the barrier keeping the monsters trapped underground, and he needs 7 in total, you being the last one. He hates that he has to do this, but he recognizes he must, for the freedom of his people.
Would you consider playing Undertale, or even recording a Let's Play? I'm new here, but from what I can see on your channel, you have done Let's Plays before. I wouldn't recommend livestreaming it unless you're very careful about spoilers / backseating, but I'd personally be interested in watching you play and talk about these songs in the context of the game.
@@AtlasBenighted Yeah, you could probably gage how many people want it by doing a community poll. Maybe on TH-cam, Discord, or Patreon. Whichever you think is best
Very accurate on Asgore, he his the first of two final bosses in the main undertale neutral route. He is portrayed as a terrifying threat but is very nice deep down. Good job man!
I haven't been keeping up with your channel lately so idk if you've listened to anything else from Undertale, but it's worth noting that the 2nd section of the song that struck you as different is a reinterpretation of his ex-wife's theme. The melody is the same, but the time signature and flourishes are different.
Asgore is a character built up to be an imposing threat the end of your journey and someone who will not hesitate to kill you, but when you first meet him, he's just a kind and loving dad who's just at humanity for killing his son Asriel, and his adopted human child Chara. Although the claims about him being dangerous aren't false either as in his fight he destroys your MERCY button and has one big showdown with you for the fate of all monsters.
this is the world's first 3 minute 10 minute video. The pacing is so fast! I'm honestly unsure whether this is a positive or negative comment but like, it's something!
Asgore had to put up a front, the entire kingdom relied on him for Hope and how he had a plan to set everyone free, otherwise every monster would've fallen to despair and depression, however, Asgore did not want to fullfil that role because he had to kill people and he himself is someone who has lost those he cares about to death, thus knows the full weight of it, it's the same reason why his Wife, having gone through the same things couldn't agree with the plan and left him, he's a gentle soul with the heavy weight that is the crown, he now wishes no other human falls into their world so he doesn't have to kill anyone, even if that means his plan will never be finished. He believes everyone deserves happiness and mercy, everyone... except himself.
as player and fans of asgore, asgore theme strikes me like this : - the intro felt like welcoming you to beginning of the end (Asgore fight only trigger when player go neutral, pacifist or true end, and you know the 2 of it have more chaotic continuation after the fight). - the tone you called "foreboding", you've no idea how bullseye you're with that comment, that repeating note/or core chord of this song, is taken/used in another theme called "Heartache" (toriel/his ex wife battle theme), in asgore theme repeated 6x. if you play the game "Heart" is something valuable there, Asgore needs 6 of it to free his people. so far he harvested the "heart" from human children that accidentally fall and trapped there.....you can guess, player is the 7th, but if you know Asgore personality as character, that "Heartache" more descriptive for Asgore's heartache rather than the harvested heart. - after "heartache" next is fast paced "determined" track + heartache in background, telling you both are determined in their last battle, (plus if you fight asgore for real = you're aiming for neutral/pacifist/true end) so yeah "heartache" still applied to your character. - that melancholic tone. for me personally i think toby wants to add Asgore nostalgia where he had everything, happier time, the next is what you called "its back to struggle again" tis the part when he lost his adoptive human son/daughter the next day he lost his own ONLY son and HEIR, then he lost his wife very SOON after (chickened out from his declaration to harvest human heart). then the reason he did what he did, snapped to reality where he fights you. I just realized in genocide route you wouldnt hear this....toby you fricking genious...
It's not microtonality just because the whole piece has been pitched up or down less than a semitone from a standard key. The intervals are all still the standard Western music intervals.
I'd live to hear reactions to the rest of the Undertale soundtrack if you ever could. Maybe hearthache? There's so many bangers, and I'd love to hear your opinion on them and on what they represent in the game!
Well, now that you've heard Toby Fox, you should consider listening to ZUN and the LOTS of Touhou (his games') soundtracks. I'd personally go for Border of Life, Necrophantasia, Emotional Skyscraper, and many others. ZUN being Toby Fox's greatest inspiration.
If you plan on playing the game and haven't already been spoiled on this character, don't read this comment. Asgore was easily my favourite character and song in Undertale, he is so underrated by the fanbase. The game initially paints "Asgore" out to be a merciless murderer that will inevitably kill you and about midway through the game you fight out he is the king but up to that point, everyone had spoken about their beloved King "Dreemurr" being a kind and loving person. Eventually when you make it to the end of the game and meet him, you find out both were true, he is nice, he even wants to offer you tea... but deep down he know he NEEDS to kill you. And so you follow him to the final room in the game where he says "It was nice meeting you... goodbye" then the battle begins and only the first part of this song starts playing (the slow intro), right as that part ends, he takes away your ability to show mercy, meaning only one of you can come out alive and you cant escape, so the actual battle starts as the music picks up all whilst you're in absolute shock because neither of you want to kill each other but one of you NEEDS to die. The tragedy of the character is that he is a caring person who is forcing himself to do horrible things and he doesn't know how to stop. Asgore means "Reluctant" and his surname is Dreemurr which is an Anagram for "Murderer". Funny how the game tells you "Reluctant" WILL kill you and how "Murderer" is a nice and loving king, it's backwards and that made the moment of finding out they're the same person very special. Unfortunately not a lot of people got to play Undertale blind and so the fact that the game painted Asgore and King Dreemurr out to be different people, went right over their heads, also a lot people just don't pay close enough attention or weren't really thinking about Asgore before the reveal. It's especially evident people don't really care about him because he is hardly in any of the merch or fan creations, it makes me sad as he is one of the main reasons I love the game so much and this game is one of the main reasons for why I became a game developer. This song made me tear up, it portrays the emotion and tragedy of the situation perfectly.
Asgore Lore: Asgore was once married to Toriel, they had a son named Asriel, and when the first human fell into the Underground, Asriel found them and brought them back home. Because the human couldn’t return to the surface, Asgore and Toriel took care of the human child in the Underground, raising the human as if they were their own child. Unfortunately an accident occurred, resulting in the human’s death, and when they died, Asriel absorbed their soul and became immensely powerful, powerful enough to cross the barrier and reach the surface. On the surface, Asriel took the human to a nearby village, and placed their body on a bed of golden flowers to honour the human’s dying wish to see the flowers again. Unfortunately the humans in the village saw Asriel holding the child’s body and feared the worst, so they attacked mercilessly, and even though Asriel had the power to kill them all easily, he didn’t, he just left, he returned to the Underground, where he collapsed into dust in his parents’ garden (monsters in Undertale turn to dust when they die). Grief stricken, Asgore announced that any humans who fell into the Underground from then on were to be considered enemies, and killed with their souls to be brought to Asgore. Toriel was disgusted by this, Asgore was still grieving, depressed at the loss of his only two children in the span of a single night, and when the 6 humans that came before the player character met Asgore, they were all killed by him too. Asgore is a man without Hope, a man who knows only sadness and pain. At the end of his battle, he outright admits that he just wants to see his son again, while at the beginning he destroys the player’s Mercy option in their fight menu, meaning they cannot spare Asgore, and they also can’t run away, all they can do is fight. Asgore didn’t do this because he didn’t want to let the human escape, he did this because he viewed himself as undeserving of mercy. He could’ve stopped at 1 human soul, absorbed that, went to the surface, got 6 more souls from the humans, then return and free everyone easily, but instead he chose to remain in the Underground, meekly hoping another human never came, because he was purely consumed by despair and sadness. Asgore isn’t some evil Monster King, he’s a grief stricken father, who doesn’t view himself worthy of sparing, a man who gave in to despair There’s even a way to make it so that one of the characters doesn’t kill him after his boss fight, and it’s looking like a potential happy ending, only for Asgore to KILL HIMSELF just so you can go to the surface Asgore is a tragic character, no doubt about it
Thanks for watching! Did you know that fretless instruments can play micro tones too? Don't forget to check my Megalovania reaction right here!👉 th-cam.com/video/aySAUxkJq00/w-d-xo.html
4:38 you keep hitting the nail on the damn head each time
the piano part are the game over song
épico
Heartache also has micro tones in I too
"A plain side gives you a certain impression but there is something about him that is so shallow."
Dude really just guessed what happened in the game when talking about Asgore.
"There's a clash of emotions inside the character." "That it eventually ended bad for him"
And now he summarized the whole fight!
Thaaaaaaaat's good composing!
😁
Facts
Mf really almost guessed his entire character💀
😁
It's not that hard to do. The music describes the character perfectly
That's the power of amazing music
@@azaluna2136 That's the power of TOBY FOX
@@arwar5265That's the power of DETERMINATION
So fun fact the uh melody shift? Ill call it you know where the song changes drastically near the beginning it swiches to the main melody of "heartache" the first boss fights battle theme. This links the two characters melodically since the two characters were married literally... Not anymore
Holy crap!
And "Determination" (the song that plays when you die) too, showing us that the words that appear in the game over screen are Asgore's
I also like how Asgore's theme also brings back an old motif from a previous theme
The term should be "afterboding" instead of "foreboding"
I think like 8 whole songs in the entire ost don't have a leitmotif
Two full motifs, actually
Heartache and determination (game over theme)
To be fair *IT SURE WAS FOREBODING but that was the first time*
This is what the foreboding song of Heartache was leading up to
@@Goatix1954 Technically also Bergentruckung, since they’re two different songs. A little bit of Spear of Justice plays at the very end too.
6:27 "Sounds melancholic" That makes sense, as that particular part of the melody is also used as the Game Over theme (Track name: "Determination").
I love how in depth you go. Another amazing track is ‘Another Medium’ a track that everyone loves but always forgets to recommend, most likely because it’s an area theme and not a boss theme. It’s a lot of people’s favorite but yet you never see anyone reacting to it :) Some other great pieces from this OST are Death By Glamor, Your Best Nightmare, Dummy, and Spider Dance.
That's what she said 🤪 Thanks!
@@AtlasBenighted Naaaaah
"Waterfall" and "It's Raining Somewhere Else" are also shamefully underrated. "Core" as well. I feel like "It's Raining Somewhere Else" might be particularly suited for an analysis like this.
@@tarvoc746 they are both such pretty pieces, I just wish they were longer! And that is attribution to the fact that I think they are both very lovely
I've never heard him described that way, "shallow", and yet it fit the situation so well. The expectation of a standard RPG is that the human hero will fight the evil King of Monsters and save the world.
Except, the protagonist here is little more than a lost, frightened child; the King of Monsters is anything but evil, and the grand clash is a pointless fight that doesn't even need to be happening. Fighting you is the absolute last thing Asgore wants to be doing. Throughout the entire battle where this theme plays, Asgore hides his face in shame, because he KNOWS what he's doing is wrong. There's no way he can possibly justify to himself what he's doing. It goes against every part of who he is, but he is ardently forcing himself to do so, because he feels he has no other choice.
@@KeroTheInvincible Imma be honest - it was years since i played Undertale. But reading this comment, i unironically cried.
I mean - i was aware of what you are talking about. But you put it in such straight-forward way that it really hit me hard.
Thank you, i guess.
The protagonist is PORTRAYED as a lost, frightened child, when they are anything but.
They are not the brave hero of many human stories, either.
They are just a person doing what they want to; hardly frightened, but forced to fight nonetheless.
The final boss is PORTRAYED as an evil king, when he is not.
He is just a coward who fights out of obligation, who kills while drowning in guilt.
He wants to stagnate, maintain, but not go any further than what he has already done.
When the two clash, it is a half-hearted dance of blades and fire where neither wants to kill the other.
Asgore will drop Frisk's HP to one before killing them.
Frisk will drop Asgore's HP to one without finishing them off.
Hesitation lies in their every move, even as Asgore's attacks speed up, and Frisk's damage per attack increases.
As they near the end of the battle, the attacks become more frantic from both sides, forcing them to fight harder and harder until eventually, it all ends.
If it was a pacifist run, Frisk has the option to try and stop Asgore by talking. But the lowering of his attack and defense only reaffirm his determination to continue this fight to the end.
Frisk does not necessarily want to fight Asgore. But Asgore is fighting Frisk out of obligation.
He stands before the barrier, as Frisk's final obstacle.
Just before, they are told that they cannot pass the barrier without killing Asgore and taking his SOUL.
Both of them have a reason to fight, and neither can run away, even if they want nothing more than peace.
But neither of them really want to fight.
Although, again, as Sans said, in the pursuit of their own goals, Frisk's clash with Asgore will determine the fate of the world.
If they die and let Asgore take their SOUL, he will no longer have any reason to stay Underground.
He will go up and maybe destroy humanity in obligation.
If Frisk kills Asgore, they will drown the Underground in despair, as their beloved king is gone, and the last SOUL nowhere to be found.
The real ending, however, is far worse, with Frisk above the barrier, without Asgore's SOUL, and all the human SOULs missing.
The progress reset all the way back to zero, the Underground once again in a place far worse than mere moments earlier.
Ultimately, he is felled, and another being takes his place as the actual final boss.
The genuine, real final clash, against a hopelessly powerful being, only made possible by getting Asgore to fight you, bringing out the SOUL jars, and then defeating him.
I think what makes Asgore song unique is that it described him well in the game of him being a broken king who have lost everything from his two children with his adopted human child passed away due to buttercup flower poisoning while his only son died because of human relentlessly hurt him to death. That in turn make him wage war towards the human and lost so he swore to killed the human once he breaks the barrier that they placed with the human child soul. But that in turned makes his wife left him in disgust while he has to uphold his people's hope and dreams to live on the ground.
And in the end he truly didn't want to go to war, he just wanted his people to have hope and felt it was his duty to carry out what he said he would do
@@raymondwiggins354 yea
The barrier was already there before his 2 kids died as far as I can remember
Yes, I hear all of that in the final cue, in the resolution
@@Gears_AndGrinds You're right. The monsters had been trapped underground for a while when the human child fell and was adopted. This is why they needed the help of their adopted brother to pass the barrier.
Another bit of inaccuracy in the first comment of this thread is that Asgore did not lose after declaring war on humanity because of his children's deaths. He couldn't lose in the first place, because the monsters were trapped already.
I like how people that haven't played the game can kinda figure out certain details about a character via their theme.
Yet, there are certain elements they can't quite pick up on, like "why is the Game Over theme part of this theme?"
Well, he does speak during it, and also has "he nods pitifully". Not that it's possible to know that without playing the demo
@@gabrote42 Right. But, a person who has never played the game wouldn't know that.
The point is, how a person can figure out some details of the character through the music. It can make them more interested in actually playing the game to learn little nuances like the one you just mentioned.
Toby Fox is a genius, and you can tell that because someone who has never played the game can tell everything about a character by a simple song
You hit with desciption of Asgore. I played this game years ago, but I remember it was something that he didn't want to fight with protagonist, but had to.
Thanks mate!
At the start of the fight, Asgore breaks your "Mercy" option.
Because he doesn't want to be saved, he doesn't think he has the right to be. For the entire fight, he has his head down, he doesn't look at you and just sends his attacks everywhere without aiming at you. In the game, Undyne says that she never managed to touch Asgore during a training session, and then he stands still and takes your hits willingly.
In one of the endings, when you forgive Asgore, he thanks you, telling you to live a good life before litterally killing himself in front of you, so you could take his soul and cross the barrier.
Wouldn’t bowed instruments easily play microtones?
6:40 The drastic change there is actually the Game Over theme. It's the only other main song in the game that uses that leitmotif. It's especially important since: 1) This character speaks during Game Over. 2) He is very thematically related to the concept. And 3) you have the option to directly address him about it during this fight if you do not meet the requirements to make him falter.
Hope that helped!
the best thing at 0:58 is that it is also a part in his wife's theme at the beginning
-You tell asgore he killed you before
-he nods sadly
Funnily enough, the boss only has 1 phase, outside of the introduction that is only the first 15 seconds. The music just changes frequently to keep it interesting and to display multiple emotions
What no one mentioned is that this drastic change that the music undergoes is to reference another character in the game that you also face, Asgore's ex-wife, Toriel, with the song Heartache, the first person we met throughout the story mode and she is protective and super kind. She doesn't support Asgore's fight but he knows he has to do it that's why he misses her, but he believes that what needs to be done is right, he is the King of the entire world we are in. so this clash of emotions comes from him knowing that he is going against the one he loves and that is why he lost her but he needs to be responsible for the lives of everyone who needs him.
People say Megalovania is the best track in the game, but this... this is the one for me!
def asgores theme breeds guilt and hatred for what he has to do (hatred more so for himself). it is such a good descriptor for asgore as a character and I hope we get some more dev for his character in deltarune
They tell different stories
I actually don't think megalovania really fits the narrative of undertale. Yes it's a cool song, but it's pretty clear that Toby didn't actually write it specifically for the game like he did with the others.
If you’re wondering why the track changed at 1:00. It’s because that actually is reminiscent of asgores old wife’s theme (I genuinely don’t know if this is brought up at all by you later, just wanted to say)
You managed to describe Asgore's character so well with just the music... Congratulations!
Thanks, props for the composer for that!
@@AtlasBenighted indeed, toby just described Asgore with a song
Bro I got chills. Asgore is a king that is kind and sweet, but will not hesitate to do what needs to be done for his country. In this case be a hoss in battle. The fact that the music got you at the heart of the character is honestly scary. Like music can transmit ideas as well as a language in the right hands.
Toby fox doesn't really use microtones: there is no song in the game that has a tone and then a tone that isn't a full key lower or higher than it. He just likes to use different tunings/pitch scales than the traditional western one in many songs, but it is always is a consistent 12 tone-scale throughout the whole song.
the _key_ here is microtonal, but the song itself is still in a clear-cut scale, basically
He doesn't explain it well be micro toneal music is anything that is not our standard western stuff. A=440, 12 tet, equal temperament.
The fact that you can figure out a whole character based only from their song is exactly why I want to become a composer. I love how music is able to show a perspective of the story that can't be conveyed visually.
Asgore is a severely underrated sad character. He can't even look you in the eye when he kills you.
I am not a musical expert by any means but Undertale and it's soundtrack center on one leitmotif. Asgore (which also has an intro called Berguntruckung) and another song Heartache mirror each other and have very similar melodies. and are contextually linked in the game as well
I buried my most beloved puppy listening to this. It's a beautiful track, but it always makes me sad now
i honestly think it's so amazing that profissional musicians are able to basically 90% accurately guess what the battle is about just by hearing the games music, this just show how ABSURDLY GOOD the game OST is, everything is so well planned and placed, not a note without a purpose
How toby fox makes music:
Step 1:piano
Step 2:what the hell
Step 3:should we call anyone?
Step 4:??????
Step 5:¿¿
I think you missed the bandwagon by a few years, hehe. Very interesting how you broke down the character pretty accurately, though that also means Toby did a great job translating the character with the track.
I'm in my own bandwagon
There's a new bandwagon thanks to Undertale Yellow, one of the new fan games that started development 7 years ago.
Yes!! Love Asgore!!
Didn’t expect it to be microtonal!
My fav band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard has 3 microtonal albums
Sick!
@@AtlasBenighted they def wouldn’t make the channel 😂 but highly recommend on your spare time 😁
it's not microtonal. the whole thing was written in 12 ET then tuned up/down half a semitone
When the music is done so well that you can accurately talk about a character you know nothing about.
With Toby Fix you gotta listen closely as he loves to put layers throughout even in parts that sound similar. In ways that almost distract you from the differences. Also most importantly hw is a master of motifs and recurring riffs to point he managed to make it a unique artform of his.
"You dont know how much i wanna say "do you want a cup of tea"..."
"But... You know how it is"
You should listen to the whole ost. Leitmotifs come back often and represent the characters or concept of the game.
This is an absolutely fantastic video! I can always tell that TH-cam musicians like you know their stuff when they can hear the Undertale OST and break down the story and the scenes bit-by-bit without having ever played the game. Toby is truly gifted, and it's always fun to see how far down the rabbit hole goes in his music.
I highly recommend you check out some of Toby's work outside of Undertale, such as more recent songs from the Deltarune soundtrack, or especially his pre-Undertale songs from Homestuck. He's been grinding away at this incredibly deep, emotional, and intense brand of music for well over a decade now, and just about everything he's ever made deserves so much love.
My personal suggestions from Homestuck include Descend, Megalovania (yes, there's an another version of it!), Black Hole/Green Sun, Black, Overture, and _especially_ Oppa Toby Style. That last one was part of a larger (~18ish minute) collaboration song, and was collectively named by the other three musicians on the project since Toby refused to give it a name due to calling it his magnum opus. Reviewing some of the Homestuck songs would net you a good portion of views, as its community is still alive and well and eats up any new TH-cam content that releases. Nobody has ever really done a music theory breakdown on most of its music (the comic ended before this type of video gained popularity), and it would be incredible to see some of that music dug into.
Thank you so much!
You described Asgore, the entire fight, and the story behind the fight, to an absolute perfect degree. It's amazing.
Spoilers ahead:
Asgore is built up to be the 'final boss.' You, a human, need to absorb the soul of a powerful Monster to pass the barrier and escape from the underground. He, the King of the Underground, needs 7 human souls to break the Barrier and allow monsters to escape the Underground. All this because, as you learn before, Asgore's child, Asriel, and a human child he once cared for, both died in one night. The latter died to disease, and the former died at the hands of humans when trying to bring the child's body back to his home. That day, Asgore vowed to kill every human that came to his realm, so he could take revenge.
6 humans have since passed into the underground. He has taken all their souls... but he has done so reluctantly. He does not -truly- wish to fight. In fact, when we confront him, he recoils in fear, staring us down with horror. He does not want to fight us. He does so because he feels he is forced to, lest his people lose hope, and his child's death mean nothing.
In fact, during this fight, you will hear a slightly remixed version of Toriel's theme. It's found out later in the game that she was his wife, his queen, and that Asriel was their son. That's why they broke up. She could not stand the idea of him killing humans out of revenge. Why she tries to protect us by trapping us in the ruins.
The entire fight is a tragedy. We do not wish to fight (unless we're doing a genocide route) because we don't want to hurt others. He doesn't want to fight because he doesn't want to harm any more people. And yet, we're forced to fight because of our own pre-determined goals. In fact, ti is the very first time in the entire game where you are -forced- to fight, because at the start of the fight, he actually destroys your 'mercy' button, as a symbolic "There will be no mercy. We -must- do this." sort of motif. At the end, however, you get a choice to kill him, or spare him. Defying what is supposed to happen and sparing h im even when you aren't supposed to be able to. It's... a wonderful scene. And you got it on the head. A true testament to not only your wonderful knowledge of Music Theory, but also to Toby Fox's absolutely amazing ability to weave story into song.
Tho the choice doesnt really matter
And we can say toby is not only make good music , he make all the music that stick with the theme that just really base on the character , toby literally a genius , and im so glad that finally someone called atlas analysis it so well !
If nothing else, Toby is an absolute genius at game music composition. Many people (including myself) were initially put off by the visuals of this game, but no matter how you feel about the graphics, the music, gameplay and story are all absolutely top-notch!
I went quite far and softly and gently pressed that like button.
Gentle Chad
I love how people react to tobys music even after 8 years. Living on!
Legends never die
The best part of the song is his intro speech pause after the first bit of the song and how he nullify the Mercy option.
For those unfamiliar, in this game you could Fight enemies or Forgive/Mercy them. It is a pivotal game mechanic and important to reach the True Pacifist ending.
Asgore nullifying the Mercy at the intro hits you hard since he is forcing you to fight him and kill him if you want to win, trying to negate your true pacifist ideals. Is not that he is evil or a bad person, on the contrary he is the nicest dude ever but his position as king forces him to do bad thing for the sake of his people. Thats why, as Atlas says, theres an undertone, a hiding aspect of asgore not seen at first glance.
Being the director and the musical composer allow Toby to not only make a song for a character, he did a song that sounds from the inside of the character and expres their full person on the melody
Wow man, you’ve improved A LOT in your content. Congrats, I’m an old subscriber and I’ll continue to it
Thanks mate
The Undertale OST is best listened to in the order they are numbered, as that is the order they appear in the game, given the sheer amount of motif callbacks.
Okay it was my first time watching your channel, halfway through the vid, I pressed the like, getting the feeling the other half will confirm that decision, that's some on-point analysis there so far :)
Alright, sir, you got yourself a new sub :)
Chad
Yours is the second reaction I've seen to mention microtones in your analysis!
This track actually reprises a number of leitmotifs established from earlier in the game, which is ... (without spoilers), well, let's just say EXTREMELY appropriate for the specific point in the game you actually hear this track.
And by all means, give Undertale a play (it's about a 5-hour game). Record it if you want to compile a Let's Play of it, but maybe _don't_ stream it online (chat may contain spoilers).
the short version of the story to understand the second part of the soundtrack is that it comes from heartache (from the fight with toriel) reprecenting they separate because the decisions Asgore took as the king
Oh! Reactions to Undertale! Love it. In this regard, I really hope for a reaction also to Touhou. (you did on one theme 2 years ago) The music is wonderful for both of them.
Btw: Toby was inspired by ZUN, this is especially noticeable in the kind of Dreemurrs and their themes.
The song isn't really microtonal, it's just a track in 12 that isn't concert pitch
Aside from that, really great video and analysis!
I think you got him right on the nose! Or snout? I'm not too sure.
😁
Boop him, he will be confused.
Finally was able to watch this video! You basically nailed it!
Thanks mate!
Bro you literally described his entire character aside from the lore behind his character obviously.
You should really listen to Deltarune music (also from Toby Fox) I don't have a particular one in mind but you should probably star with "Field of Hopes and Dreams" or "A CYBERWORLD ?!?!" clearly bangers :)
Its incredible that you and Davi Vasc got the same reaction, same thoughts on micros and about the music that relates into the character
Davi makes great videos
@@AtlasBenighted _so when youre gonna react to touhou music too?_
I remember this was the song that made me interested in Undertale, yeah Megalovania was cool but the beginning of Asgore's theme gave me this impression that he doesnt like what hes doing, and the fact that this pixelated character had such a good song was just impressive so i check out the game and yeah, was not disappointed
ill never get tired of Undertale ost reactions
Davi Vasc also talked about the microtones of this track, but you explained it better.
He is great! I'm glad we both agree on it
this melody i call it the Undertale's backbone, a lot of the song (2 boss battle, intro and more) use the same melody. the notes sound similar but the pitch and speed change depending on the context
My piano is out of tune and i found out that the tune on my piano matches the microtones on the asgore song
No way 😆
Asgore as my favorite character in Undertale he’s only in the game for about 30 minutes, but you can tell so much about him about how other characters think about him and just bring it together. He would’ve been good boss if it weren’t for you know
Asgore, a broken king who lost his children & his wife, a king that swore in rage to his people that he would kill any human he meets so he can gather 7 souls and break the barrier sealing them all underground, when in reality, he doesn't want to harm anyone.
He wants to stop fighting and just be a family again, with you as well, but the promise he made forces him to fight.
Conflicting emotions clash against one another as he must make a choice between the 7th human or his people.
In the end, even if you manage to spare him, he just can't take it anymore as he decides that the best option is to just end his own life.
Truly a sad tale of loss, rage, & regret.
He wants to spare you, but he can't for his people's freedom.
The context is that you're fighting the king of monsters, Asgore. He had to murder 6 human children to get souls to cross the barrier keeping the monsters trapped underground, and he needs 7 in total, you being the last one. He hates that he has to do this, but he recognizes he must, for the freedom of his people.
for me, this music show the pain inside asgore, since he is willing to kill a child to save his people
Ah the classic problem of trying to find the cords for this song for the First time
Would you consider playing Undertale, or even recording a Let's Play? I'm new here, but from what I can see on your channel, you have done Let's Plays before. I wouldn't recommend livestreaming it unless you're very careful about spoilers / backseating, but I'd personally be interested in watching you play and talk about these songs in the context of the game.
I would consider if more people wanted me to do it
@@AtlasBenighted Yeah, you could probably gage how many people want it by doing a community poll. Maybe on TH-cam, Discord, or Patreon. Whichever you think is best
Toby Fox actually used microtones in nearly all the songs in Undertale
Very accurate on Asgore, he his the first of two final bosses in the main undertale neutral route. He is portrayed as a terrifying threat but is very nice deep down. Good job man!
Thank you!
This song is by far the best song in the entire soundtrack imo, apart from finale, hopes and dreams, and save the world
I haven't been keeping up with your channel lately so idk if you've listened to anything else from Undertale, but it's worth noting that the 2nd section of the song that struck you as different is a reinterpretation of his ex-wife's theme. The melody is the same, but the time signature and flourishes are different.
every music composer that has reacted to asgore had guessed asgore's character in some way correctly
Chads
@@AtlasBenighted have you reacted to battle against a true hero yet?
Oh you must definitely react to Battle Against A True Hero. It's the other biggest song of the game regarding plot
"Battle against a True Hero" is brutal too, I hope you analyze it someday
0:01
General kenoby
And you haven't heard its orchestral version for the 5th anniversary
Bro almost tell us the past of the mother of asgore💀
Wake up babe! Another Undertale reaction!!!
Asgore is a character built up to be an imposing threat the end of your journey and someone who will not hesitate to kill you, but when you first meet him, he's just a kind and loving dad who's just at humanity for killing his son Asriel, and his adopted human child Chara. Although the claims about him being dangerous aren't false either as in his fight he destroys your MERCY button and has one big showdown with you for the fate of all monsters.
Incredible what you guessed with your microtones theory, amazing insight.
Thanks mate!
Bros head dent is a deeper than the trenches
Your mom likes it a lot
this is the world's first 3 minute 10 minute video. The pacing is so fast!
I'm honestly unsure whether this is a positive or negative comment but like, it's something!
You’ve gotta hear this right after Enemy Approaching and Heartache, in that order.
Heartache is his ex wife’s theme.
Asgore had to put up a front, the entire kingdom relied on him for Hope and how he had a plan to set everyone free, otherwise every monster would've fallen to despair and depression, however, Asgore did not want to fullfil that role because he had to kill people and he himself is someone who has lost those he cares about to death, thus knows the full weight of it, it's the same reason why his Wife, having gone through the same things couldn't agree with the plan and left him, he's a gentle soul with the heavy weight that is the crown, he now wishes no other human falls into their world so he doesn't have to kill anyone, even if that means his plan will never be finished.
He believes everyone deserves happiness and mercy, everyone... except himself.
Thumbnail: "You *Kid* ding me?"
That was a great analysis! If you want to keep in line with sthe story of the game, you could react to the song Heartache next! :>
Thanks!
I can’t hear this song without hearing the version about Kanye and fingers (IYKYK)
Undertale never Die
It’s a beautiful day outside… 😢
I think if theres any song that is the best representitive of the game, its Asgore's theme.
as player and fans of asgore, asgore theme strikes me like this :
- the intro felt like welcoming you to beginning of the end (Asgore fight only trigger when player go neutral, pacifist or true end, and you know the 2 of it have more chaotic continuation after the fight).
- the tone you called "foreboding", you've no idea how bullseye you're with that comment, that repeating note/or core chord of this song, is taken/used in another theme called "Heartache" (toriel/his ex wife battle theme), in asgore theme repeated 6x. if you play the game "Heart" is something valuable there, Asgore needs 6 of it to free his people. so far he harvested the "heart" from human children that accidentally fall and trapped there.....you can guess, player is the 7th, but if you know Asgore personality as character, that "Heartache" more descriptive for Asgore's heartache rather than the harvested heart.
- after "heartache" next is fast paced "determined" track + heartache in background, telling you both are determined in their last battle, (plus if you fight asgore for real = you're aiming for neutral/pacifist/true end) so yeah "heartache" still applied to your character.
- that melancholic tone. for me personally i think toby wants to add Asgore nostalgia where he had everything, happier time, the next is what you called "its back to struggle again" tis the part when he lost his adoptive human son/daughter the next day he lost his own ONLY son and HEIR, then he lost his wife very SOON after (chickened out from his declaration to harvest human heart). then the reason he did what he did, snapped to reality where he fights you.
I just realized in genocide route you wouldnt hear this....toby you fricking genious...
It's not microtonality just because the whole piece has been pitched up or down less than a semitone from a standard key. The intervals are all still the standard Western music intervals.
I'd live to hear reactions to the rest of the Undertale soundtrack if you ever could. Maybe hearthache? There's so many bangers, and I'd love to hear your opinion on them and on what they represent in the game!
Well, now that you've heard Toby Fox, you should consider listening to ZUN and the LOTS of Touhou (his games') soundtracks. I'd personally go for Border of Life, Necrophantasia, Emotional Skyscraper, and many others. ZUN being Toby Fox's greatest inspiration.
if you hear Toriels theme next youll notice something else
bro, how have you NOT listened to a DKC song yet!?!??
If you plan on playing the game and haven't already been spoiled on this character, don't read this comment.
Asgore was easily my favourite character and song in Undertale, he is so underrated by the fanbase. The game initially paints "Asgore" out to be a merciless murderer that will inevitably kill you and about midway through the game you fight out he is the king but up to that point, everyone had spoken about their beloved King "Dreemurr" being a kind and loving person. Eventually when you make it to the end of the game and meet him, you find out both were true, he is nice, he even wants to offer you tea... but deep down he know he NEEDS to kill you. And so you follow him to the final room in the game where he says "It was nice meeting you... goodbye" then the battle begins and only the first part of this song starts playing (the slow intro), right as that part ends, he takes away your ability to show mercy, meaning only one of you can come out alive and you cant escape, so the actual battle starts as the music picks up all whilst you're in absolute shock because neither of you want to kill each other but one of you NEEDS to die. The tragedy of the character is that he is a caring person who is forcing himself to do horrible things and he doesn't know how to stop. Asgore means "Reluctant" and his surname is Dreemurr which is an Anagram for "Murderer". Funny how the game tells you "Reluctant" WILL kill you and how "Murderer" is a nice and loving king, it's backwards and that made the moment of finding out they're the same person very special. Unfortunately not a lot of people got to play Undertale blind and so the fact that the game painted Asgore and King Dreemurr out to be different people, went right over their heads, also a lot people just don't pay close enough attention or weren't really thinking about Asgore before the reveal. It's especially evident people don't really care about him because he is hardly in any of the merch or fan creations, it makes me sad as he is one of the main reasons I love the game so much and this game is one of the main reasons for why I became a game developer. This song made me tear up, it portrays the emotion and tragedy of the situation perfectly.
What I find interesting is that it’s in D half flat minor (I believe)
Is bro cosplaying as gaster? That egg head made it really obvious 😂
Asgore Lore: Asgore was once married to Toriel, they had a son named Asriel, and when the first human fell into the Underground, Asriel found them and brought them back home. Because the human couldn’t return to the surface, Asgore and Toriel took care of the human child in the Underground, raising the human as if they were their own child. Unfortunately an accident occurred, resulting in the human’s death, and when they died, Asriel absorbed their soul and became immensely powerful, powerful enough to cross the barrier and reach the surface. On the surface, Asriel took the human to a nearby village, and placed their body on a bed of golden flowers to honour the human’s dying wish to see the flowers again. Unfortunately the humans in the village saw Asriel holding the child’s body and feared the worst, so they attacked mercilessly, and even though Asriel had the power to kill them all easily, he didn’t, he just left, he returned to the Underground, where he collapsed into dust in his parents’ garden (monsters in Undertale turn to dust when they die). Grief stricken, Asgore announced that any humans who fell into the Underground from then on were to be considered enemies, and killed with their souls to be brought to Asgore. Toriel was disgusted by this, Asgore was still grieving, depressed at the loss of his only two children in the span of a single night, and when the 6 humans that came before the player character met Asgore, they were all killed by him too. Asgore is a man without Hope, a man who knows only sadness and pain. At the end of his battle, he outright admits that he just wants to see his son again, while at the beginning he destroys the player’s Mercy option in their fight menu, meaning they cannot spare Asgore, and they also can’t run away, all they can do is fight. Asgore didn’t do this because he didn’t want to let the human escape, he did this because he viewed himself as undeserving of mercy. He could’ve stopped at 1 human soul, absorbed that, went to the surface, got 6 more souls from the humans, then return and free everyone easily, but instead he chose to remain in the Underground, meekly hoping another human never came, because he was purely consumed by despair and sadness.
Asgore isn’t some evil Monster King, he’s a grief stricken father, who doesn’t view himself worthy of sparing, a man who gave in to despair
There’s even a way to make it so that one of the characters doesn’t kill him after his boss fight, and it’s looking like a potential happy ending, only for Asgore to KILL HIMSELF just so you can go to the surface
Asgore is a tragic character, no doubt about it
BATTLE AGAINST A TRUE HERO NEXT
wonder if you can play this song on a ocarina using the subholes?